Aneirin Wledic

Aneirin Wledic (AD 321 Londinium, Britannia {present-day London, England}-AD 373 Watford, England) was a Roman military officer who was best known for his role in leading the Romano British resistance to the Saxons in the 4th century AD. He was martyred at Watford in the "Watford Massacre" of 373 AD, where Aneirin and his 20 followers were killed in a cavalry clash with Adalgard, a Saxon-Sarmatian officer. He is known as Saint Wledic, the patron saint of Wales, as he led resistance to the outside invaders in the name of Christendom as opposed to the pagan beliefs of the Saxones.

Biography
Aneirin Wledic was a native Welshman and related to Dejotarus Wledic, either a father or uncle. Wledic was raised in the settlement of Campus Silurii of the Silures tribe, although his family had embraced civilization long before, and in 330, he converted to Christianity. Aneirin Wledic was posted in Greater Britannia's frontier outposts near the Scots-English border and saw some action against the Picts and Scots, using ambush tactics recovered from barbarian turncoats to defeat them on more than one occasion. Although he was only a Corporal in the Western Roman Empire's army at the time of his rebellion in 369 AD, he was certainly a skilled fighter with the brains to fight a protracted struggle against overlords.

Wledic was supposed to be sent back to Europe for re-deployment after the fall of Eburacum (York), but instead fell behind and took charge of an army of 4,800 Roman veterans posted at Hadrian's Wall, leaving it undefended for the Celts to take, and instead marched south to Londinium, waiting outside of the castle gates to inspect the defenses. In 370 AD he attempted to capture the city but this left 2,400 Romano-British dead and Wledic failed to take it in a fresh attack the next year. Aneirin Wledic was defeated in a series of battles, but raised new volunteers each time, especially from the Welsh Marches, where he made his base. There, he founded the Kingdom of Gwynedd as a Romano British base, and became its first king.

Aneirin Wledic fought the Saxons in northern Britannia a few times, on two occasions defeating a unit of Sarmatian horse archers in a cavalry duel, but was unable to capture any walled cities from the Pagans, and resumed guerilla warfare.